2019 Mustang REVIEW! 5.0l V8 with ROUSH Stage 3 Conversion

The Ford Mustang GT, fitted with the Roush Stage 3 conversion is not your regular pony, and certainly one not too easy to break in.

Every boy dreams about being a cowboy. Be it from the movies we all dearly loved while growing up, the Clint Eastwoods’s, the Indiana Jones’s, or the plastic six-shooters we got for our 5th Birthday. To us all, there comes a time where it could actually be.

For me it came late, though I spent many a school holiday on the farm, shooting rifles and farming with my brothers, cousins and my grandpa.

For me, it came at the mature age of 31. After I was allowed the opportunity to drive my first Mustang. A 2.3l EcoBoost.

I loved every second with the car, and never thought it could get any better, until… I got an email from Performance Centre to test drive the Roush Stage 3 fitted Mustang.

This beast of a machine comes with a Supercharged 5.0l V8 engine, full Roush body kit and branding, brand spanking new leather seats, 20” custom rims and of course, a tonne load of power.

Though it is considered one pony, it boasts with 710 ponies under the hood. Let’s take a second here and bow our heads in silence… Not really, but seriously, just stand still on this point for a moment.

Imagine sitting on a wagon and being pulled by 710 horses. Have you ever stopped to consider this ridiculous picture, I say ridiculous, because it really seems like just that, ridiculous. However, it is not. It is exactly what this car is powered by.

I drove this special vehicle for only 5 days, and I can tell you, it was the hardest thing to give back. In only 5 days, I grew so attached to the car that we almost got swept up in a river of my tears, the morning I had to take it back to its rightful owners, Performance Centre.

Though I didn’t really have a brief moment of sad tears, I did have a moment with tears of joy. Because that, along with a sense of courage, status, bravery, and a “feel like I can do anything I set out to achieve” attitude is exactly what you will get every day when driving this piece of pure workmanship and state of the art engineering.



The design on the Mustang is intense. Its lines are some of the most beautiful you’ll have ever seen and the extras added by the Roush Stage 3 performance kit is to die for, literally. Every other second you’ll need to pinch yourself as if to establish that you aren’t dreaming.

And for those with a family, it’s also for you. Trust me, you’ll make them feel like royalty every time you have them step foot into this Mustang.

The power can be somewhat intimidating at first, but it’s not long before they’ll chant from the back seat, bolted to the floor; “daddy, let’s go fast!” And fast you will, my good friend.

Something a little personal, my daughter asked me, daddy, why are we always going fast in “the new car”, for a brief moment they thought it was ours, and for a brief moment I wish it were, who am I kidding, I wished it the entire stay. Anyway, my answer was simple, I told her; “honey, that’s the only speed we can go, this car was built for it.” She responded with, and I quote; “Daddy! Then let’s go fast!” I obliged of course, in light of not wanting to let them down.



On a serious note, this car must be like capturing a wild steed and taming it, it could take weeks, and even though you think you’ve “done” it. You’ll still know that you’re riding on a wild animal that could leave you behind at any moment if it pleases to do so.

With this car, respect is ever-present. You might feel you can handle it, but you’ll always know that you need to respect it.

If I can be completely honest, 90 percent of the time I was scared, but not in the sense that I didn’t want to drive it, but rather that scared that you crave as a man.

The rush you are drawn to, that thing you want to feel, because even if only for a moment, you feel alive and in that moment, more alive than ever before. A fear that is accompanied by pleasure, satisfaction, excitement and the satisfying of desires.



I used to think that I would never by myself a sports car, muscle car if you will. But, I need to be honest with you, it didn’t take much for this Mustang to sway me in the opposite direction.



I must clear the air though, yes, its fuel economy is far from great. But I will counter with the fact that you don’t purchase this vehicle for every day use, though it would be amazing if one could.

I wouldn’t mind driving a Mustang every single day. I honestly don’t think it will ever get old.

And if you wondered what it must feel like to be pulled by 710 thoroughbred horses, just buy yourself a Mustang and add the Roush conversion. 

If nothing else, you’ll make one helluva entrance.